Aid station volunteers were great. Unless it involved accurate distance to the next aid station. At least three times, they told me the next aid station was one mile less than it actually was. I don't know if it was intentional, but it was very annoying and frustrating. The worst was coming from AS #15 Wormy's Pulpit at about mile 80. They told me it was just over five miles to the next aid station comprised of first just 2 miles on the road and then a few on the trail down to Bulls Gap, AS #16. Well, it turned out to be about 4 miles on the road (the whole time I was thinking I had missed the turn-off) and a couple miles after that. I was PISSED. It was cold, the rain had picked up again, and the wind made it even colder. I was having trouble moving and was seriously concerned about hypothermia. I was so scared, I even yelled for help a few times. No response. I eventually made it and besides being near hypothermic, my blood was boiling. Erin helped me change clothes into something much warmer (I ditched both bra and heart rate monitor because the chafing was so bad), got me some food, and basically pushed me out the aid station. As I was leaving, my right leg twinged. I reached down, massaged it, and limped away one step at a time.
The final two aid stations are a blur. By the time I got to the last one, the sun was up and spirits were returning. Here they told me only 5 miles to the finish. Well, it was over SIX!! And almost all of it was road which my feet, knees, and legs abhorred.
Here's almost everything I ate:
- about 4 oranges
- 2 monster sandwiches (2 eggs, 2 full pieces of bacon, half avocado, costco torta roll, 4 slices of thick oscar-meyer mesquite turkey)
- about 4 pb&j sandwiches
- 15-20 scoops of TailWind
- 1 cup ramen noodles
- 1 cup loaded tomato soup - super delicious at AS #14 The Pinnacle, mile 75
- 1/2 peanut butter cliff bar
- half costco torta roll
- half chicken quesadilla
- 1 cup ginger ale
- 1/2 small can ginger ale
- 2 small pieces of ginger
- 2 scoops of Costco whey protein (27 g protein / serving)
- water, lots of water
- 4+ scoops Heed
- avocado
- small serving sweet potato
- potatoes with salt (about 1 medium total)
- 2 pickles and some pickle juice
- 0 cookies
- 0 gummy bears
- 0 gu/gel
- 0 bananas :(
- Cheap Wal-Mart disposable poncho from start to first aid station and again later next morning
- Asics Kayano 20 from start to AS #7, Bald Rock, about 38 miles with Asics socks. Worked great. Felt a little movement and beginning of blisters.
- La Sportiva Raptor from AS #7 to AS #13, Porter's Gap, about mile 68 with puma socks. They were great going down from Bald Rock but otherwise KILLED my feet, especially on the roads.
- Brooks Cascadia with green compression socks to the finish. I think the socks are what hurt my right leg. I suspect that they were pulled up too far and bruised the tendons on the back of my knee deep in the calf muscle. These shoes were pretty much new and definitely too small. Both of my big toes will lose their toenails as a result and a few other toes will lose theirs too. Again, they were great except on the road and that they're a little small.
- I started with my blue/green Marine Corps Marathon Brooks Volunteer shirt but it seemed to soak up water and caused most of the chafing on my back. So I switched it early on for the good ol' blue VHTRC short-sleeved shirt. Later I donned one of my MMT shirts and finished the last 15 miles with the blue double-layer Patagonia MMTR shirt.
- I wore my new Asics shorts from the ATM team the entire time. Chafing between my legs was minimal.
- Bag Balm did wonders. I applied some between my legs early on but don't think I needed it. Then at the Bulls Gap AS, Erin put some on my back where the chafing was real bad. It did wonders and really helped!
- A headlamp in the fog was almost worse than no headlamp. So I grabbed one of my bike lights from my bag as soon as I saw Erin and held it most of the way. At times I used both the handheld and the headlamp to light my way. I also used the portable battery/light after I had charged my watch.
Recovery
They had showers across the street from the finish. The water was cold, so feeling more irate, I skipped the shower. Then we headed back to the breakfast near the finish line. It looked disgusting (fake scrambled eggs, warmed-up biscuits and gravy, and some bacon), so we just left with my shiny new buckle. We found a delicious vegan restaurant in Chattanooga using the Happy Cow app. The food was exactly what both my mouth and stomach needed since my mouth gets real sensitive if it has had too many carbs and sugar.
Lessons Learned
- organize drop/crew bag. Label bags with aid station to minimize time at aid station and make it easier for crew.
- eat towards the end of the race too
- start even slower
- I can walk pretty fast.
- have a handheld light ready in case there's fog
- get a new hydration pack with more front storage
- The deluxe avocado, egg, bacon, turkey sandwiches taste great but are heavy to carry. Cut in half or try some wraps instead.
- spend less time at aid stations
- ask about the type of running surface; I think a pair of road shoes would have done just fine on the whole course
The start! With my very fashionable rain jacket.
Coming in to the 2nd aid station
Boardwalk on top of the mountain.
It was all foggy when I got here.
Supposedly the view is amazing.
Looking at my watch, pumped legs, wearing the cheap Marine Corps and carrying my rain jacket
